Synopsis
Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider who turns out to be Hiccup's mother, Valka. Hiccup and Toothless then find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior named Drago.
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Cast
- Jay BaruchelHiccup (voice)
- Cate BlanchettValka (voice)
- Gerard ButlerStoick (voice)
- Craig FergusonGobber (voice)
- America FerreraAstrid (voice)
- Jonah HillSnotlout (voice)
- Christopher Mintz-PlasseFishlegs (voice)
- T.J. MillerTuffnut (voice)
- Kristen WiigRuffnut (voice)
- Djimon HounsouDrago (voice)
- 100
Hitfix
This is a sequel that has its own story to tell and that gets right down to it, and it expands on the ideas from the first film, but in a way that tells a thematically satisfying and complete story. In other words, this is how franchises are supposed to work. - 90
Variety
If necessity is the mother of invention, then DreamWorks’ desire to extend the Dragon franchise has propelled the creative team in the most admirable of directions, resulting in what just may be the mother of all animated sequels. - 80
Arizona Republic
The look of the film is amazing. The animation, particularly when the dragons take flight, is seamless. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Clearly, these films are the work of people who love animals. More importantly though, going beyond the pat eco-conscious message that every kids’ film has to have, HTTYD2 touches on how complex the emotional bond between a person and an animal can be. - 70
Village Voice
The plot is needlessly busy, and much of the action is more manic and indistinct. But How to Train Your Dragon 2 cuts deeper than the first picture — it will be particularly resonant for anyone who has ever worked with or adopted rescue animals — and there are a few sequences of cartoon grandeur. - 67
The Playlist
After meandering for a while, the story kicks into gear in the third act, with a couple of legitimately shocking and well-executed developments that do pack a punch missing elsewhere in the film. - 63
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
A cartoon with better animation and livelier action, if fewer jokes. If there’s one thing these sweet-message/great flying sequence movies don’t need is fewer jokes. - 60
The Telegraph
The action sequences here are armrest-gripping fun, and you only wish DeBlois and his animators had been even more confident; held their shots even longer; allowed us to enjoy the whistle of the wind and the curve of the dragons’ flight paths without hurriedly cutting away to another angle, and another, and another. When the film flies, it soars.